Ungheni City Hall shows a construction site that is moving ahead. The public record, however, says more: a market worth over 17.5 million lei, with its deadline pushed to autumn, funding shifted from a European programme to national money, and open questions about some 80 traders and about the site's transparency.
Mayor Vitalie Vrabie wants the 10.3-million-lei rebuild of Burebista Street in Ungheni finished this summer. The city hall says the works are being slowed by fences put up on public land.
Alongside the municipality of Ungheni, a second bloc is taking shape in the district: the commune of Sculeni is merging with Cioropcani, Buciumeni and with Taxobeni — a commune from the neighbouring district of Fălești. The Secretary General of the Government, Alexei Buzu, promoted the merger in a video; the Sculeni and Buciumeni commune councils voted for the merger on 30 July, Taxobeni on 31 July, and Cioropcani on 10 August.
An assembly of residents in the commune of Măcărești voted for a voluntary merger with the municipality of Ungheni, and the local council is set to decide on Tuesday, 16 June. The commune was not on the list of ten localities announced by the city on 10 June — it would be the eleventh.
The National Reunification Platform held a forum in Ungheni in support of Moldova's union with Romania — a cause that remains off the official agenda, which is focused on EU integration.
The city's second-tier team drew its friendly with Dacia Buiucani, a club from Liga 7777 — Moldova's top division of football.
The town of Ungheni and nine communes and villages — including Brătuleni, from Nisporeni district — would form a single town hall of roughly 44,000 residents. Residents can submit proposals until 29 June, during the public consultation that precedes the council vote.
Stage director Edgar Bunea has been promoted to artistic director of the Ungheni Palace of Culture and introduced to staff by the institution's director, Silvia Zagoreanu. He will continue to lead the TeatrUngheni troupe, which he founded.
In May, a 55-year-old Ungheni woman was convinced to "invest" on an online platform. The cash was collected from her in Ungheni by two young men from the left bank of the Nistru — the local link in a scheme that caused 270 million lei in damage nationwide last year.
